WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The organization, which has recently had doubts cast publicly over its transparency, including claims that it accepted substantial foreign donations while Hillary Clinton was in power, has remained silent on the matter, ignoring media requests for comment.
"The Clinton Foundation financial statements are simple to evaluate under New York law; what they have produced, particularly since 2009, is fraudulent," Ortel said.
Under New York state law, one does not have to prove intent to defraud or intent to harm with respect to cases involving charity organizations in the state, he said.
"[T]hey were supposed to have obtained prior written approval from the New York Attorney General to submit 'combined' statements the way they have done since 2009. These are all fraudulent," Ortel said.
In November 2013, the Clinton Foundation got the New Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) — set up to address the HIV/AIDS crisis in the developing world — to refile its financial returns form 990 for 2010 and 2011, when Hillary Clinton was a Director.
The financial analyst claimed the forms are still incorrect today.
"There are numerous flagrant fouls in this refiling and in all financial and other disclosures outstanding. Unfortunately for the Clintons, they nevertheless proceeded with global solicitations for annual and for endowment gifts while fraudulent financial statements remained outstanding," Ortel said.
He acknowledged that some portion of the funds the Foundation has raised was spent on its designated charity pursuits.
However, in the construction of new CHAI and the New Clinton Global Initiative (GCI) as well as in the operation of the Clinton Foundation since July 2002, “the Clintons have been behaving as if laws that hobble other charities do not apply to them,” he said.
Ortel argued that the Clinton Foundation started getting active internationally on the HIV/AIDS issue in July 2002, but did so without having secured prior Internal Revenue Service authorization to raise funds in the area.
In January 2015, former management consulting firm McKinsey and Company executive Eric Braverman resigned as CEO of the Clinton Foundation after less than a month in the job. Ortel noted that Braverman’s rapid departure raised concerns on Wall Street and throughout the US financial sector about the state of the Foundation's finances.
Sputnik contacted the Clinton Foundation's press offices in New York and Little Rock and the press office of Hillary Clinton last week but did not receive a response. Sputnik remains open to publishing comments from the Clinton Foundation.
The Clinton Foundation has raised more than $2 billion for charities over the past 12 years, including from major foreign donors, some of which later received contracts from the US government during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as US Secretary of State.
